Client Contracts Help Create Boundaries - Here's How!

Last week my toddler wanted to take his iPad on the ride to school. I saw him walking towards me and took it away saying we don’t watch the iPad on school days. He proceeded to have a toddler style breakdown that continued for a few minutes until he was loaded in the car and distracted by the sticker book that had been left on the seat. 

But then he said, “Daddy said I could take it on the way to school.”  Uh-Oh.  This is actually the first time we’ve had a Mommy and Daddy miscommunication and I felt horrible.  I checked with Chris who had in fact said that he could.  Oops. I took the iPad out to Oliver and apologized saying I didn’t realize Daddy had said yes.  Poor little guy!  

It was obvious that Chris and I had different expectations that morning and hadn’t communicated with each other clearly.  It’s not the end of the world and of course it will happen again. 

But.

There are ways to ensure that these types of miscommunications or misunderstandings don’t happen. In a relationship this comes through clear communication, standards and setting expectations. 

In business it’s the same. With your clients it’s vital to constantly communicate and set standards and expectations from the beginning.  How is this done? Through your 1:1 contract.  Without it, there is no doubt that one of you will head down a certain path not realizing the other isn’t on board. 

Your contract allows you to outline the boundaries around communication - for example, when and how are you going to be available? If you as the coach plan to check Slack 1x a day but you don’t tell your client and they are expecting you in there at least a few times, that is going to cause an issue.   

If you want your clients to book in months in advance and they are constantly booking last minute, that’s not going to work.